dmidecode

DMI/SMBIOS hardware information decoder

TLDR

Dump the whole DMI table

$ sudo dmidecode

Read a single value by keyword

$ sudo dmidecode --string system-serial-number

List the keywords that can be read this way

$ dmidecode --list-strings

Show one table type by name

$ sudo dmidecode --type memory

Show the installed DIMMs, with size and speed

$ sudo dmidecode --type 17

List the type names and numbers available

$ dmidecode --list-types

Show the BIOS vendor, version and release date

$ sudo dmidecode --type bios

Show several types in one run

$ sudo dmidecode --type baseboard --type chassis

Look up a single structure by its handle

$ sudo dmidecode --handle [0x1000]

Drop the banner and handle lines, for scripting

$ sudo dmidecode --quiet --type system

Save the raw table for analysis elsewhere

$ sudo dmidecode --dump-bin [path/to/dmi.bin]

Read a saved dump, which needs no root

$ dmidecode --from-dump [path/to/dmi.bin]

Show the raw hex beside the decoded output

$ sudo dmidecode --dump

SYNOPSIS

dmidecode [-s keyword] [-t type] [--dump-bin file] [--from-dump file]

dmidecode reads the DMI (Desktop Management Interface) table, also known as SMBIOS (System Management BIOS), and displays hardware information in a human-readable format. This includes details about the BIOS, system, baseboard, chassis, processor, memory, cache, connectors, and slots.The DMI data is read from /dev/mem or sysfs, depending on system availability.

PARAMETERS

-s, --string keyword

Only display the value of a specific DMI string (e.g., bios-vendor, bios-version, system-serial-number, system-uuid, processor-version, processor-frequency).

--list-strings

List all valid string keywords for use with -s.

-t, --type type

Only display entries of specified type. Can be a number, comma-separated list, or keyword (bios, system, baseboard, chassis, processor, memory, cache, connector, slot).

--list-types

List all valid type keywords for use with -t.

-H, --handle handle

Only display the entry matching the specified 16-bit handle value.

-q, --quiet

Less verbose output; suppresses unknown, inactive, and OEM-specific entries.

-u, --dump

Show raw DMI data as hexadecimal.

--dump-bin file

Dump DMI data to a binary file for later use with --from-dump.

--from-dump file

Read DMI data from a previously saved binary dump file.

--no-quirks

Decode table contents precisely without applying workarounds for common firmware bugs.

--no-sysfs

Do not attempt to read DMI data from sysfs files.

-d, --dev-mem file

Read memory from a device file other than /dev/mem.

--oem-string N

Display OEM string number N, or use "count" to show the total.

-h, --help

Display help.

-V, --version

Display version.

INSTALL

sudo apt install dmidecode

sudo dnf install dmidecode

sudo pacman -S dmidecode

sudo apk add dmidecode

sudo zypper install dmidecode

nix profile install nixpkgs#dmidecode

CAVEATS

Requires root privileges. Information accuracy depends on the BIOS/firmware implementation. Only works on x86 and x86_64 systems with SMBIOS-compliant firmware. The options -s, -t, and --dump-bin are mutually exclusive.

HISTORY

dmidecode was written by Alan Cox and is currently maintained by Jean Delvare. It provides a standardized way to access system hardware information through the SMBIOS standard on x86 and x86_64 systems.